A monthly survey of purchasing managers. Above 50 means expansion, below 50 means contraction.
Dates come from the same table as the economic calendar, which is updated from the published schedule. Times shown are GMT; the calendar converts them.
| Published by | S&P Global and national institutes |
|---|---|
| Usually released | Monthly, early in the month, with flash and final readings |
| Typical impact rating | Medium |
| Currency | Whichever country publishes it |
| Moves gold? | Rarely by itself |
Purchasing managers at companies are asked whether activity, orders, employment and prices are better, the same or worse than last month. The responses are turned into an index where 50 means no change, above 50 means expansion and below 50 means contraction.
A fall from 58 to 54 is still expansion, just slower. A fall from 51 to 49 is a change of state. The market treats the 50 line as meaningful in a way it does not treat any particular level of GDP.
PMI surveys are published within days of the month ending, long before official production or GDP figures. They are a fast, if rough, read on where the economy is heading, which is why they move price despite being survey data.
Several countries publish a flash estimate based on most responses, then a final figure. The flash carries the surprise and moves price; the final rarely does.
What was published, against what was expected. The market reacts to the gap between forecast and actual, not to whether the number was good.
| Date | Currency | Actual | Forecast | Previous |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4 Sept 2026 | CAD | — | 56.2 | 55.1 |
| 4 Sept 2026 | GBP | — | 45.8 | 44.7 |
| 3 Sept 2026 | USD | — | 54.2 | 54.1 |
| 3 Sept 2026 | USD | — | 56.8 | 56.8 |
| 3 Sept 2026 | GBP | — | 52.8 | 52.8 |
| 3 Sept 2026 | EUR | — | 51.7 | 51.7 |
| 3 Sept 2026 | EUR | — | 48.5 | 48.5 |
| 3 Sept 2026 | EUR | — | 48.4 | 48.4 |
No change from the previous month. Above 50 is expansion, below is contraction, and the distance from 50 indicates how broad the change is rather than how large.
For most developed economies, services, because it is much the larger part of the economy. Manufacturing PMI is watched more closely in economies where industry dominates.
Because it arrives early. Speed is worth more than precision to a market pricing expectations, and the surveys have a reasonable record of pointing in the right direction.
The journal on this site records the date of every trade and compares your results on days with a high impact release against every other day. That turns a general worry about trading the news into a figure about your own record.